Apples
by Bluble
Summary: The small, background story of Terra and Eraqus' meeting that took place before BBS, when they were younger. One-shot, not multi-chaptered.


**A/N:**** So this story was a random idea that dawned on me out of nowhere. (Well, not really out of nowhere, but rather after watching a ton of BBS videos...) But I thought it would be cute to tell the backstory of Master Eraqus and Terra's introduction. I'm not sure if there's really a canon intro that they both may have mentioned, because I've only watched the videos of BBS. I never bought the game because I don't have a PSP. So here's a little fluffy story that's most likely AU. Also may be a bit of OOC-ness...**

**Enjoy~**

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The Land of Departure is a lush, bright world. Everything about it is wonderful and great, like the building structures, the gardens, and the people-

"HEY! STOP THAT THIEF!" A Salesman behind a fruit and vegetable booth yelled. Down in the farmer's market, people had their colorful booths in a straight line down a designated path. Each person sold their own produce, whatever they owned, selling it off with moderate prices.

A small boy, around the age of 5-6 ran down the dirt path away from the screaming salesman. He held a sweet, ripe Granny-Smith in one of his hands. His clothes were a faded red color that, from one glance, looked almost like the dirt he ran on. On his shirt were stains from various different sources along with sown on patches that were ripped over again. Another alias for this outfit was "old thrown out table-cloth from a money making family", but that was, of course, a long time ago.

Meanwhile, about a good few yards away from this scene, a man in his mid-30 strolled down the same farmer's market. He was a wise fellow. He was leaning over a vegetable booth, grabbing and examining each papaya he could see. After nodded at one that looked the ripest, he placed it into his brown bag and dug into his pocket. After finding and paying the nice young lady for her food, he continued strolling for his night dinner. His name was Eraqus. Normally, a title before it would be "Master", but in a place like this, either would have been fine.

"WOULD SOMEONE STOP HIM?!" The same salesman from a hearing distance yelled. The small boy pushed anyone in his path. Occasionally, he would hear a couple of "oh" or "woops" or even "sorry". Others would be snide comments.

Eraqus jerked his head towards the sight of the commotion. The boy with a determined expression on his face was about to bump into the Master. Lucky for him, he placed his bag on the floor and let his back face the boy. His next move was fast and graceful as he summoned his keyblade, stopping the boy from running. The boy's nose nearly touched the side of his blade, making him step back a bit. He quickly looked at the blade wielder, his gaze surprised and covered with fear. The Master looked down at him, his glare intense, but passionate and caring. Just as the boy stopped, the apple flew out of his hand into the air. Without a second thought, Eraqus caught it between his fingers.

In just one glace, he saw that the boy was small and innocent, seeing the wide range of light in him, along with the potential. He could see all of that, just within his small, blue eyes. Eraqus dismissed his keyblade, making it glow into a bright flash of light that quickly disintegrated into the air. He smiled lightly, slowly kneeling to the ground. With each fingertip, he held the apple in front of him. Eraqus faced the kid, looking into his eyes.

"What is your name, son?" He asked, twirling the apple with his fingers.

"T-Terra." He mumbled, twiddling his thumbs.

"Hm…Terra: strong, just like land beneath us. It's sad to see someone such as you to be stealing and thieving. ."

"Ple-Please don't get me in trouble. I won't do it again. I-I was just hungry." He began shaking, his eyes brewing up tears.

Eraqus' smile was sweet, his eyes squinting with joy. Taking the kid's palm, he placed the apple into his hand and patted it. The Master used his vacant hand to push himself from the ground and stood up straight and poised. "Follow me."

The two walked back down the dirt road, one with a bag of produce and the other with a shining apple.

"I'll pay for this." Eraqus said, placing the change onto the counter. The man grumbled a few words under his breath and grasped the money. Eraqus looked down at the boy named Terra. With a slight nod, Terra took a huge bite out of the apple, smiling at the sweet taste of it.

Eraqus knelt again to look at the boy in his eye level. "I promise to protect you as my own. You have too much potential to steal the scraps of others." Terra was too busy chomping on the apple to take seriously the words of the Master. To this, he chuckled, patting the top of his brown hair.

The two walked to the Castle that the Master lived in. Along with himself, he kept a young girl, just about Terra's age. She was a stray too until Eraqus found her. In her, he saw the same light and potential that they both had.

"Aqua. Come here at once." Eraqus sweetly called up the staircase. Immediately, a girl with light blue hair and the same kind of eyes as Terra excitedly ran down the steps. Before she could reach the last, she jumped into the Master's arms. He chuckled humorously. "My, you're getting taller." He muttered. Placing her beside him, he looked at Terra who had still been behind Eraqus' legs.

"Aqua, I would like you to meet Terra. He will be living with us too."

Aqua's bright eyes gleamed at the sight of a new family member. Eagerly, she skipped over to him, letting out her hand. "Hello. I'm Aqua; nice to meet you."

Terra just stared uncomfortably at her, afraid to even move.

"You don't have to be shy. I don't bite." She joked. She leaned forward and grabbed his hand, making him gasp slightly in surprise. He took another breath and calmed down.

"You're Terra, right?" She chirped happily.

He smiled nervously. "Yeah."

She laughed. "Well, come on. I'll show you around…" She jumped, pulling onto his arms.

"Whoa." He quickly followed her as they both ran around the Castle, taking inventory of things like "the creepy painting room", "the cooking place", "the scary basement", or "the biggest room".

Eraqus walked on his own, thinking to himself.

_I promise to protect them… I will protect them…then, when they become Keyblade Master's themselves…they will need to face the darkness. However, they will be ready… I know it…_


End file.
